Escape, even into a world you've sworn to avoid is pretty tempting when your dad has what everyone believes is terminal Melanoma. His only hope is an experimental immunotherapy and the family health insurance is close to maxed out. Meet high school senior Ally Duncan, honor student, tutor to others and until things got bad financially, on the fast track for Columbia University all the way across the country from her home in Los Angeles.
She's almost ready to give up her dream and let the family use her college savings to help cover bills when her long time best friend Vanessa, about to become star of TV's hottest new teen drama, talks her into being her assistant on the set, working around school and her dad's hospital stays. Despite Ally's aversion to the whole celebrity scene, the money might be the difference between her dream and having to give it up.
The last thing she expects to find on the set is a fast growing attraction to Liam, the male star, but their chemistry sizzles, even though both work extra hard to hide what's going on. When the publicist for the show convinces Vanessa and Liam that having a fake romance is necessary to create more buzz for the new show, Ally does her best to deal with it, but coupled with the dislike between her best male friend, who she thought was completely into Vanessa, and Liam, plus the pressure of seeing her guy and best friend splashed all over the internet and tabloids, causes her to reverse course.
What happens after she essentially breaks her own heart makes for a compelling read and one I enjoyed a lot. There are sexual references and profanity, but neither should be a deal breaker for libraries where teen readers enjoy edgy romance. ( )

Before I get started, I need to be up front with you all: I consider Dahlia Adler to be a good friend of mine. There’s even photo evidence that we’ve spent time together. If you follow her on Twitter, you know that she’s fabulous, spirited, hilarious and opinionated. Behind the Scenes hadn’t really caught my attention until I befriended Dahlia. Reading the book of an author friend is always dangerous, because it really ups the expectations and there’s not really any more guarantee the book will be a favorite, even though logic might seem to suggest it would turn out that way. In this case, my expectations were a bit high, but I do believe Behind the Scenes to be a good choice for a light, summer read when you want to turn your mind off and read something fluffy and fun.

Read the full review at A Reader of Fictions. ( )